U.S. President Donald Trump has postponed until June 1 a decision on whether to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and a select number of other countries around the world.
President Trump made the decision to postpone with just hours remaining before Canada's exemption from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum was set to expire. President Trump had ordered sweeping tariffs in March of 25% on U.S. steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports, but granted temporary exemptions to certain countries such as Canada and Mexico.
Canada's exemption period was set to end at midnight on April 30. But late Monday evening, President Trump decided to give Canada, Mexico and the European Union another month to work out a deal with the Americans. The U.S. administration has tied both countries' tariff exemptions to the successful renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The Trump administration issued a statement saying it had come to a final agreement with South Korea on steel imports and had reached agreements in principle on steel and aluminum imports with Argentina, Australia and Brazil.
"The Administration is also extending negotiations with Canada, Mexico and the European Union for a final 30 days. In all of these negotiations, the Administration is focused on quotas that will restrain imports, prevent transshipment and protect the national security," the statement reads.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that he'd spoken to President Trump on the issue and was confident the U.S. government understands that tariffs would hurt jobs on both sides of the shared border.
"We continue to work with the administration but we are optimistic that they understand that this would be a bad thing for both of our economies," Prime Minister Trudeau said at a public event held in Vancouver, British Columbia.
